The Relationship Between My Body and What the Fork Brings In

I am not skinny. I am not really fat either. My weight has always been what I think is pretty average in my adult years. I love to eat, and I enjoy desserts and cocktails. Fortunately I really enjoy working out which has always helped to balance things out.

I have never had to really exercise incredible willpower to lose weight. I am not bragging, its not easy for me to shed pounds when I need to...its just that I don't have any crazy vices like some people I hear about. I don't stash candy between my mattresses for those times of weakness. I don't have a few good days of dieting and then go on "a bender" where I indulge in so many forsaken foods that I wake up feeling ill... with traces of nacho cheese in the corners of my mouth. I just get to the point where I am disgusted, and then make a vow to do something about it. That usually means I have fallen off my workout wagon and I just need to get back on. I will also adjust my eating habits so I cut out some stuff. But I never go on deprivation diets. I just eat less and pass on dessert and fried foods more.

I just really enjoy eating well. I like healthy food, but also just really GOOD food. Sometimes I forget to keep my portion size in check. I do go through phases where pizza "just really sounds good" a little too often, or indulge in a bacon avocado cheeseburger (with fries, of course) because I haven't had one in a while. And wine....oh,wine...its pretty darn good stuff. I like reds...zins, cabernets, pinot noirs...and well, you can't squander away a good bottle of wine on a crappy meal. So that leads me to my steaks, pork chops and other yummy things I like to have for dinner. I love baked potatoes, but typically my "sides" for dinners are artichokes (which I do enjoy best dipped in mayo) and asparagus. I like salads, but am typically do lazy during the week to put all the toppings on that I enjoy the most. Which doesn't really make sense because they all come out of a can (garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black olives) for the most part, except croutons...and blue cheese dressing. So I still eat salad but usually something easier, topped with tomatoes and croutons only.

So to fast forward, I am turning the big 4-0 in a couple weeks. I want to turn 40 feeling fit and fabulous. I am the mother of two small children, a 3 1/2 year old boy and a 1 year old boy. While they do keep me pretty busy, I also find ing that its hard for me to take time to exercise as much as I'd like. I have also gone back to work after being off for a year and have actually put on weight. When I was home I led a much more active lifestyle...walking to the store with the boys in a stroller, taking them to the gym, riding my bike with them in a bike trailer. I also pretty much ate the same boring things all the time. I didn't get out to lunch or dinner more than maybe once every couple of weeks with my friends. Now here I am working in an office, and I am a free woman out on the town with big decisions to make like, "Where are we going to eat today?" and "Oh, you brought donuts in this morning? I think I'll take one, thanks." I have gained 5 lbs in the last few months, and on a short person like me (5'2) it shows. Not to mention the muscle mass I have lost since I have not worked out regularly since I started this job last July. Oh, da horrah!

My husband works most nights so I am left to my own devices as to what to make for dinner. I think I typically make good choices. He is totally supportive of me leading a healthy lifestyle. He is dedicated to working out nearly every day and likes to eat pretty healthy. He has a wicked sweet tooth though, and I try to help him out by not keeping any sweets in the house at all. But he's one of those "binge" people. If he's got a craving, he will dig high and low through every cabinet and the freezer in search of a treat. So, occasionally I throw the chocolate candy from goody bags my son gets at birthday parties in the freezer so if I hubby is having one of his fits, he can find a small something there.

Today a group of five of us from work are starting our version of "The Biggest Loser" challenge at work. We are all geared up to improve ourselves, and hope to support one another. Since we are together 5 days a week, and these are the people I typically make my eating decisions with (good and bad), I think this is going to work out well for us. We all went today to Wolf Fitness Systems to get our body fat tested because one of my co-workers works out there. I have never had my body fat tested before in my life! I thought I was going to get pinched in a few places but it turns out its a little more high tech. John, the owner, put some type of gel on my skin (resembling ultra-sound gel) and put a little sensor gun on specific areas: on my belly, on my waist/hip area, and the back of my arm. After a few beeps, it uploads information into a software and gives your overall body fat percentage. Mine was 28%! I was quite surprised that it was that high, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since my discontent with my body lately is what brought me there in the first place.

I am not a calorie counter, but instead I just hope to keep track of all the exercise I do and put it out "there" (meaning, here) so it will keep me honest. I hope to lose between 7-10 lbs. Our challenge goes from today until March 11...so I'm sure there will be ups, as wells as downs. And hopefully all the downs will be the numbers on the scale!